ST. LOUIS—French Gerleman has been named one of the St. Louis Business Journal’s Family Business Award Winners.
This is the first year the Business Journal has had this award category and they received more than 65 nominations, but only seven companies were honored. The St. Louis Business Journal honors these companies for their longevity, entrepreneurship, perseverance, creativity and community involvement. French Gerleman is currently managed by the 4th and 5th generations. There are currently six family members involved with the business.
“It’s been important to French Gerleman to maintain our heritage and history as a family owned and operated business,” said Bill French, CEO of French Gerleman. “In the nearly 100 years in business, we have kept the company in the family.”
Founded in 1923, French Gerleman was built on a strong foundation of guiding principles. Among those is a continued emphasis on forging enduring relationships with all of those who have had an interest in their success. It is the French Gerleman mission to provide a true career environment for employees, serve every customer above and beyond the abilities and standards of the rest of industry and to ally with the best manufacturers to build lasting relationships.
“We like to say that we are grounded in the past and poised for the future. Our success is dependent on all team members working together to stay strong and to continue to grow as a company,” said Steve French, Vice President of Operations. “Not only are we a proud to be a family business, but we count many 20+ year employees among our ranks. Our employees become a part of our family.”
Stories for each of the companies honored, including French Gerleman, will appear in the October 21 issue of the St. Louis Business Journal.
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